Everyone Deserves A Spotlight
by atticusandalice
Summary: A series of oneshots for each cat in the Warrior's series, no matter how small the character. Rated "T" to be safe. Cat #2: Mousefang.
1. Crowtail

** A/N:**

**I love Erin Hunter and her Warrior Cat Series. **

**Sometimes, though, I wish I could hear more from some of the characters. To give Erin Hunter credit, she has to deal with 735 different characters. And counting_._ I feel bad for a lot of those characters, because as the title says, I think should get a chance in the spotlight, however fleeting it may be.**

**For this fanfiction, I am going to write a oneshot for every single character in the series, no matter how small they may be.**

**As always, epic thanks to my beta, _Hope-Dream-Read_, for editing this.**

**First up is Crowtail.**

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><p><em>Crowtail:<em>

_*Looks: A skinny black tabby she-cat with dark green eyes_

_*Clan: ShadowClan (post-death: StarClan)_

_*Apprentices: Cloudpaw(pelt)_

_*Shown: Alive- Bluestar's Prophecy, Crookedstar's Promise, Battles of the_

_ Clans_

_ Dead- Night Whispers_

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><p>Prey was never plentiful in our Clan, not even in greenleaf. I would go to gatherings, and see the sleek RiverClan, the muscular ThunderClan, and the lithe WindClan. All of them well fed. Yes, ShadowClan did eat, but we never did look healthy, <em>really<em> healthy, like they did. I always felt ashamed.

We knew other Clans feared us, and we took pride in that. But the only reason they were afraid of us was because of our wit, our ruthlessness, our extreme loyalty to the Clan over _anything_ else. It wasn't because we could easily overpower them. Quite the contrary. If any of the other Clans had these skills, we would easily be the weakest Clan in the forest. We wouldn't have anything to hold over them.

When leaf-fall's cruel paw presses down, ShadowClan is in the pits. The prey becomes even more and more difficult to find than it already is. Yes, you would think that leaf-bare would be worse, but everyone in ShadowClan knows that it is obsolete in comparison to leaf-fall. Once those frigid moons really set in, you are used to living like a starving cat. It is harder, however, when you are just getting used to it; slowly eating less and less each day.

That particular leaf-fall, for some reason, was worse than others. It was colder; the leaves were already sprinkled with frost and the wind began to bite our paws. We were still getting used to Raggedstar and the way he ran things. And to top it off, we were shifting from just enough prey to practically none at all.

I know we shouldn't have been there. It was ThunderClan's territory. We were blatantly trespassing. But we were going though an extremely bad time in ShadowClan, and we needed the extra food.

The day started out worse than usual. Raggedstar put me on dawn patrol. I tried to explain to him that I had training with Cloudpaw all day, but he would nave nothing of it. So, after partially pulling a claw and dealing with Brackenfoot's grumbling, I got back to camp _not_ to get food and _not_ to take a break, but to bring my apprentice out for a hunting patrol.

I had already been out, and I knew there was barely anything at all; definitely not enough to even feed a quarter of the Clan. When we headed out of camp, I walked past Foxheart, our patrol leader, and flicked her on the shoulder as I passed. She immediately knew to follow me, so we walked to a more secluded area, while Cloudpaw was distracted with talking to Archeye.

I sat down and curled my tail over my paws, Foxheart doing the same. She waited for a moment for me to collect my thoughts, and then flicked the tip of his tail to say I could start.

"To be blunt," I started, "There is no way we are going to be able to bring anything back for the Clan. Only a couple of scrawny mice are out right now, but it's not enough to feed the queens, let alone the elders or the rest of us."

"There is nothing we can do about that," Foxheart meowed with a sigh.

"What if…" I faltered. "What if we crossed the Thunderpath?"

"What are you suggesting?" Foxheart queried, tilting her head and looking at me strangely.

"We could go into ThunderClan territory..." I trailed off.

Foxheart looked taken aback. Her eyes were wide, and her tail flipped off her paws and was now arching over her back. "I never expected any ShadowClan cat to say something like that, let alone you, Crowtail." She knew about how loyal I felt to the warrior code. "I could report you to Raggedstar for what you said, you know," she added.

"But you won't," I quickly and forcefully insisted, matching her gaze. "Because you care about the Clan just as much as I do." I looked around, making sure Cloudpaw was out of earshot. "And also because this isn't out of your league," I whispered

Something flashed across Foxheart's features, to quick for me to read. "All right," she murmured. "But make sure you keep your apprentice… quiet." She walked off, and I knew she wasn't talking about me making sure he crept silently.

I followed her, and when she went past Archeye and Cloudpaw, they fell in line with her. I nudged Cloudpaw's ear with my muzzle, and spoke to him quietly. "We are going to do something very dangerous." I saw his eyes widen in excitement, and I hastily added, "But you can't tell anyone. They will get jealous that they didn't get to go. And never, _ever_, do this again unless you have someone's permission." He nodded his head in the affirmative, and when I looked up, I could see that we were right near the Thunderpath.

Foxheart paused, crawling out from the dying reeds near the foul black path. She paused, and seeing no monsters in sight, she raced across. Archeye turned his head back to me when Foxheart flicked her tail on the other side to signal us to come across. The black streak over his eye was scrunched up, which usually happens when he is confused or upset. This time, it was probably both. I nodded to him, and, shaking his head in a noncommittal way, he raced across the Thunderpath himself.

I myself checked one last time that there were no monsters in sight. Not seeing any, which was very unusual, I pushed my tail on the pack of Cloudpaw's legs, and we sprinted across. I made sure he was always slightly ahead of me as the rancid odors filled my mouth.

We dived into the ferns on the other side, my eyes still burning from the fumes. Foxheart looked over us to make sure we were all in one piece, and then silently slipped away into the deeper parts of the forest.

"Keep as silent like I taught you," I said in an undertone. "Make sure to kill prey before it has a time to sound an alarm." I watched as Cloudpaw forced his fur as flat as it could go. He did his best to pace his feet straight down, trying not to slip foreword and press too hard, as he weaved though the undergrowth, avoiding contact with everything he could. _'__Not __perfect, __but __still __coming __along __well,__'_ I thought. A spark of pride lit in my chest, but it went away when I focused back on the task at hand.

While it would have been easier to split up to find more prey, we all stayed together, in case of an opposing patrol, and also because we didn't want to get lost in enemy territory. I was opening my mouth and just finally getting hints of shrew, when I stopped suddenly, hearing a rustle. I knew Foxheart saw me out of her peripheral vision, and she halted too. She hooked her tail, and we all knew that was code for _danger_.

Just I started to back up, the world spun. The ground was the sky and the sky, the ground. Yowls ripped from all over, and I found myself pinned down by a white she-cat. Reacting quickly, I flung her off with my back legs. Leaping up, I saw that the patrol only consisted of her and another gray blue she-cat, who Foxheart was grappling with. Cloudpaw was making quick, lashing swipes at the white one, while Archeye was close behind.

I knew Cloudpaw. He was very driven and he wanted to do the best he could for his Clan, but he wasn't the strongest apprentice in his den.

I also knew that Foxheart. She had no trouble actually sneaking into ThunderClan, but Raggedstar ever got word of it, she would be mortified.

While we could have easily taken on these two cats with our patrol of four, it really wouldn't have been the best course of action. I caterwauled, and waving my raised tail side to side, I turned and dashed away.

Paw steps were quickly following me. I saw Cloudpaw close beside me, so I picked him up by the scruff of his neck and hurried even faster. Not even checking the Thunderpath, I burst out of the ferns and scampered across. I toppled into prickly reeds, releasing my hold on Cloudpaw and he was flung by my momentum a few tail lengths away. A roaring was in my ears, and I realized it wasn't blood.

I looked up, and saw Foxheart almost over. Archeye was only partially, but I could see the whites of his eyes.

A monster just passed. It had ran down at him, and it barely missed him.

Both of the cats went screeching in fear into the reeds. Archeye immediately jumped to me, pushing his head into my shoulder. He was shuddering, gasping for breath. A wail from somewhere rose, and his soon mirrored it.

"What happened?" I asked, voice frightened and strained.

"The m-monster… huuh… hii-i…"

I looked up, through the reeds and across the Thunderpath. The white se-cat was on her side, something was tainting her fur near the ground pink. The other she-cat was over her, a single screech ripping her chest.

The white one was dead. Hit by the monster.

My heart beat rapidly. If I was one moment later, it could have been me and Cloudpaw.

'_Cloudpaw!'_

I looked over at him, and his ears were drawn back. A mixture of emotions plastered his face. Horror. Guilt. Fear. Disbelief. Hopelessness.

'_He __shouldn__'__t __have __seen __it.__'_ I knew that this whole thing was my fault. It was my idea to cross, so it was my fault the ThunderClan warrior was dead, and my fault that my sweet apprentice had to be witness to such a dreadful thing. It felt like someone had takem a thorn and plunged it into my gut.

I promised myself that day that I would do anything in my power to never see that look on his face again.

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><p>Now, I really don't mind being dead. I mean, getting killed by sickness wasn't very heroic, but I get to be with my friends and family all the time.<p>

Archeye and I always love the time we spend with each other, walking and hunting and just relaxing. He died before I did, and we have made up the time when we were separated, but it is still never enough. You couldn't separate us for anything.

I can see Cloudpelt every day. I know it sounds awful, but I was happy when he passed. I still got to see his triumphs and failures, and no other cat could have been prouder that me when he was made deputy. But he was my good friend even after he was made a warrior, and I missed him dearly.

The journey from the old forest to the lake was a hard one. We left behind memories, and the possibility of never seeing our kin again. However, in the end it was completely worth it.

Everything was peaceful for once.

At least, it was until we started getting these omens. And one day, all of a sudden, we woke up and there was an unspoken agreement that none of the cats from the different Clans of our past would interact with each other.

I was confused. This was StarClan! We were one Clan that was supposed to care equally about all of the cats on the ground. We weren't supposed to put one Clan before another, even if it was your own. But I didn't want to break the mould, so I just went along with it.

Then came the evening when we warned ShadowClan's ginger medicine cat, Flametail.

It makes me distressed to know that he is up here with us before his time. That night however, when he was still alive, and we told him to only trust his Clan; that, for me, is even more heartbreaking.

Flametail left, and I knew that the beginning of something great and terrible was coming. There was no trust, no hope let in the world. I leaned against Archeye, the pelt that I knew so well merging with mine, comforting me. I could feel the tension and load of my feelings begin to slightly lift off of my shoulders. I realized that Cloupelt would be feeling the same way we were, so I stood, breathing deeply, with Archeye by my side to go and find him.

It didn't take long. However, he didn't notice our approach, and I stopped abruptly.

Cloudpelt was looking at the place where Flametail stood before he had vanished. The same look on his face that had been burned into my memories was there again; the same one I had seen so many moons ago.

I had broken my promise. I had failed.

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><p><strong>Reviews are greatly appreciated, but never forced!<strong>

**Next: ****Mousefang.**


	2. Mousefang

**A/N: ****Here is Mousefang.**

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><p><em>Mousefang:<em>

_*Looks: A sand-colored she-cat with green eyes_

_*Clan: SkyClan (suspected post-death: StarClan)_

_*Apprentices: Oakpaw(step)_

_*Shown: Alive- Firestar's Quest, SkyClan's Destiny_

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><p>I saw the warriors of this once great Clan pad away. My heart sank- it really was the end. No matter how hard I prayed, begged, and pleaded, we were done. Through.<p>

Oakstep twined his tail with mine. "Don't worry," he said, but a look of calm fear hidden in his eyes countered the words he spoke. "I'll take care of you. We will be fine."

_Oh, my dear apprentice. I hope you can, I really do. But I'm not sure if you will be able to._

The tom quickly walked over to Spiderstar, ever the cat eager to please his leader. "Is there anything I can do?"

Spiderstar sighed. "You are an elder. There is nothing that you need to worry about,"

"Please!" Oakstep begged. "There must be something! Anything! I… I can be an elder no longer."

"I'm not sure we can do that… but…" Spiderstar sighed. "Alright. I hope this will do. Oakstep, is it your wish to… give up the name of an elder and go to join the warriors?"

"It is."

"Your Clan honors you… and thanks you for the service that you will give us." Spiderstar brightened. "And not that we have a warrior, there is something else I must do! Come with me." Rapidly climbing to the highest ledge in the gorge, the one we used to make announcements, I knew what was coming. I turned to Nightfur, and his glowing eyes matched mine.

"Since most of our Clan has deserted us," started Spiderstar, "We no longer have a deputy. It is time for me to choose a new one. I say these words before StarClan, that the spirits of our warrior ancestors may hear and approve of my choice. The new deputy of SkyClan is Oakstep!" A gasp of happiness and slight surprise escaped the newly appointed deputy, but he quickly composed himself, went over to Spiderstar, and licked his shoulder as Spiderstar rested his muzzle on Oakstep's head while the rest of the "Clan" cheered his name. I felt a slight spark of happiness for my apprentice. This must be the proudest day in his life, but the fact that we may not know how long any of this will last killed the mood.

"As your first job, I would like you to move all of the nests into my den," said the leader. I saw Brackenheart and Nightfur pull confused faces, and I must be doing the same. "There is enough space for all of us, and it will definitely be more safe." Oakstep quickly hustled down to the elder's den and started pulling a nest up the slope to Spiderstar's cave.

The strong, dark brown tabby tom dragged himself down from where he was sitting on the cliff face, a more defeated stride taking him over. Settling himself down by his faithful medicine cat, the two leaned in to each other at the same time, trying to feed each other support.

"That was… kind," whispered Brackenheart. "You heightened everyone's spirits. Generous for what is probably facing us, considering we probably won't have any form of leader soon, let alone a deputy. But still kind."

"Kindness is all we have left," was the response. "Nothing else. Not even hope. What else could I do?"

A pit opened up in my stomach.

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><p>I quietly sat beside Nightfur, enjoying the rays of sunshine that still drenched the rocks in the gorge. The tom had barely spoken at all since a quarter moon ago- the Clan failing to stay together must have broken him.<p>

My stomach has been growling for the past three days, but like I was going to complain when I'm not doing any work, and some of my Clanmates weren't even getting as much as me.

Pebbles scrabbled down from the top of the gorge, and once I blinked the sun out of my eyes, I was able to see Oakstep coming down the path. I waved my tail in greeting, and stood up in surprise when I saw prey dangling in his mouth. I stiffly bounded the rest of the way to him and rubbed my head against his as a sign of thanks. He still looked unhappy, and when he dropped the food on the ground, I could see why. There were only two small mice, and one squirrel that was more bones than meat. I tentatively took one of the mice, and Oakstep nodded his approval, so I padded away to share it with Nightfur. A gasp of surprise echoed off the rock walls, and I whipped around to see Brackenheart sprinting over to Oakstep.

"Your leg! It's bleeding!" the medicine cat meowed. His nose pressed into the haunch of Oakstep's back left leg.

"Hmm. I didn't notice," replied the gray tabby tom, looking away.

"It's impossible to lie to a medicine cat, Oakstep," an amused but annoyed expression overtaking Brackenheart's face. "We can see through everything."

Oakstep just rolled his eyes while the other tom continued to make his way through his fur, looking for the source of blood. Finally finding it, he drew back, eyes wide "That's a rat bite! What happened out there?" My fur stood on end as Brackenheart diagnosed the problem.

"I ran into a bit of trouble. Nothing that I couldn't handle."

"Sure, sure. But you should have told me earlier! I need to get burdock root before the infection sets in!" The young cat meowed over his shoulder as he trotted away to the den to gather the herbs he needed.

Not but a moment after Brackenheart disappeared inside that Spiderstar appeared over the crest of the cliff. I could hear his sigh of relief as he came down. "Good! You found some prey! Better than nothing- like me."

"Here," said Oakstep, nudging the squirrel towards the leader. "Eat this."

Spiderstar shook his head slowly. "I can't. The rest of my Clan comes first. _Everyone_ will eat before me."

"Well, you can go ahead and take it then," I piped up. "I'm sharing my mouse with Nightfur, and I think it would be fine if Oakstep and Brackenheart split the other one."

"And what is the use of a leader if he's too weak to even walk?" The rhetorical question came from the medicine cat as he walked back to us, words mouthed around a large brown stalk protruding from the side of his maw.

The dark tabby tom snorted unhappily, paced back and forth a few tail lengths, and, stopping over the squirrel, daintily took a small nibble out of it. Tail flicking slowly, I could see him forcing some restraint as he tried not to scarf down the rest of the prey.

Squinting my eyes, I hid my gasp as I looked closer at my leader- his ribs were protruding from his chest. He was all skin and bones.

I realized though a moment later that we all were.

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><p>"Oakstep, can I have a word with you inside the den?" questioned Spiderstar. The deputy immediately obeyed, following him up the side of the gorge. I didn't miss the limp he carried- that bite from the rat must not have gotten better, even after a quarter moon of healing.<p>

_ 'Maybe I should get him some more burdock root. It might make his leg get better.'_ I stood up, loosening my stiffened joints, and trekked up the slope to Brackenheart's den. While he slept in the same den with the rest of us, he decided to keep his herbs separate to make sure they were clean.

"Could I have some burdock root?" I asked the medicine cat, his silhouette at the back of the den coming into view after I popped my head in the cave. The brown tabby looked confused.

"What for?" he asked. "You didn't get bitten, did you?"

"No. I just saw Oakstep still limping, so I thought I would get something for him to help."

He shook his head. "We don't have any more. But you can give him some chervil instead. Make sure he chews them up for the juices," he offered, pushing towards me some sweet-smelling, fern-like leaves. Picking them up with my muzzle, I dipped my head in thanks and continued upwards to our den.

"…_got to get them out of here,"_ I heard just as I approached the opening of the cavern. I shrunk back, keeping as still as possible so I could listen to what they were saying.

"_They are starting to starve themselves to death. This is no way for an elder or a medicine cat to live. They should have calm, happy, content lives."_

"_I agree, Spiderstar. But what can we do?"_

"_Listen to what I am saying- we must bring them to the Twoleg Place, and get some twoleg to come out and take care of them."_

"_Turn them into kittypets? But they would never agree to that!"_

"_I know. We are going to have to lure them in. They're not going to like it, but it's for the best."_

My blood was boiling. I couldn't take it any longer. Claws scrabbling, I turned the sharp corner, dropping the leaves in my mouth. "You want to get rid of us?" I screeched.

Eyes wide, the two toms stepped back. Seeming to regain control of what just happened, Spiderstar shook his head. "No! Not at all! We want to stay together as long as we can, but…"

"But the point is, you were going to _lie_ to us. And _deceive_ us. That's not what true Clanmates do to each other! I… I want the old SkyClan back!" Eyes screwed up, I ran back outside the den. I kept going down, down, down, paws leaping and not knowing where they were going.

"Mousefang!" Spiderstar's call came from above. "Wait!" I heard him begin to race after me.

And then I didn't.

I heard a crash and a clatter, and at the end, a bone-trembling snap.

I whipped around, and saw Spiderstar lying on the ground.

Dead from when his neck snapped from the fall.

"…_no_," I whispered. Nimbly stepping down the rest of the way, I hovered over his limp body. "This… this can't happen. No, we… we…"

Brackenheart appeared at my side. I didn't even notice him come over. He pressed his nose into the fallen leader's pelt at a few places, futilely searching for something, anything.

"He's gone."

"…_it's all my fault!"_ I wailed, face upturned to the sky.

"Shh, don't be upset," said Oakstep. But I heard the remorse choking his voice as he rested his head on my shoulder. "It's better this way. He won't have to hold on to the last bits of his life, withering away." Lifting his head, he stared off into space. "…I guess I must journey to Skyrock tonight."

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><p>I heard Oakstep's feet padding back in the dead of the night. I moved my eyes from where they were trained on Nightfur's slowly rising and falling flank, and the moon cast enough glow to show that there was no elation on his face.<p>

"StarClan didn't accept me," he murmured. "They said that SkyClan's time is over. We are not a Clan, and there is nothing we can do."

He sat down beside me.

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><p>Over the next few days, Brackenheart would dote on all of us, trying to lift our spirits, give us food, make us happy. But really, there were only half-hearted attempts. When he realized that there was nothing more he could do, he too sat down.<p>

Not many words were spoken after that.

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><p>One evening, days later, when the sun was slowly setting, I was nudged awake from my nap by a warm nose.<p>

Blearily blinking open my eyes, I saw a pair of yellow ones looking down on me.

"Spiderstar!" I lept to my feet. "You are alive!"

He just looked silently behind me, and I saw that I had jumped clean out of my body.

"…Oh. Is it… time?" I ask him. He nodded. In a rush, the words I have been longing to say come spilling out of my mouth. "I'm so sorry! I know what you were planning was only for our good, and I never meant for you to die, and-"

His long tail quickly whisked over my mouth. He calmly, and warmly, stared into my eyes. "I understand," he said, and I heard the energy and strength in it that it used to have when he was younger. "Come," he continued, looking behind me. Turning, I saw my three other Clanmates pulling themselves from their bodies.

"Let's go to StarClan."

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><p><strong>Next: Reedtail.<strong>


End file.
